Honda is not yet committed to Formula 1 beyond 2020 claims Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko as whispers from Japan suggest not everyone is over the moon with the company's latest foray amid the huge amounts of money being spent to be competitive in the top flight.
Marko admits that Honda still has work to do to catch Ferrari and Mercedes, even though ExxonMobil introduced an innovative new fuel for the Japanese carmaker's 'spec 4' engine at Suzuka.
"In qualifying, we are still clearly behind, especially Ferrari," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "We lost eight tenths to them on the straights. But in the race, we are about equal to Mercedes."
As for Honda's future beyond 2020, Marko admits that is clouded at present, "They are waiting until the new regulations are on the table. Then they will analyse everything and decide."
Marko admitted that reducing costs for the engine manufacturers will be a "very important" aspect of that analysis, "If it does not get cheaper, there will be hardly anyone left."
But Marko thinks it would be premature to 'freeze' engine development, "Freezing only works when everybody is at the same level. At the moment, Ferrari drives away from everyone in qualifying, including Mercedes."
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